Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The "This Not That" Festival Hypothesis

Many talk about how Coachella's lineup announcement will give us a better view of who might be attending Sasquatch, but the discussion always leads to a band being more likely to play Sasquatch, instead of the basis behind this hypothesis, that the band would be less likely to be at Sasquatch.

I know occasionally they share a headliner, and there will be two or three mid tier acts on each lineup, and four or five lower tier acts on each, but Sasquatch is competing for fans with Coachella. They are both major West Coast festivals occurring within a month of each other, and they both cost a lot of money to attend, and using Keno as a supplemental income to attend each has proven to be a poor investment for (ahem) some of us. The two lineups always have a different feel. Sasquatch recently has differentiated itself from Coachella, to give would be Coachella attendees a different option.

With that said, here is my hypothesis' hypothetical recruiting phone call:"1. Are you alive?2. Are you able to create music?3. Are you planning on still being alive and creating music around Memorial Day?"

If the answer to all three is yes, the call continues with this very important question:"4. Are you playing Coachella?"

At this point, answering yes is greeted with an immediate "maybe next year," unless you answer yes to the fifth question as well."5. Are you Pavement?"

If I didn't bore you already with the first paragraph, these are the acts the hypothesis states are more likely because of their omission from the Coachella lineup:

Interesting ideas. I would discount Pearl Jam off the top as they are simply too big for Sasquatch (this argument comes up every year).

I also don't think Modest Mouse is likely as they have played the festival so many times (and so recently). And as far as I know, they have no new material coming out. Same with the Flaming Lips. I know they have a new album, but they headlined just two years ago (and two years before that).

Beastie Boys don't seem likely as they just played a few years ago and getting kind of tired.

Arcade Fire seems like a likely option. They are one of the best live acts going (anyone see them at Sasquatch 2007?! Crazy.) and have a new album out this year. Same with MIA.